


Ulterior Motives

by sarcasticism



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Thrawn - Timothy Zahn
Genre: Blow Jobs, Confessions, Gay Sex, M/M, Oral Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 02:23:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13824480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcasticism/pseuds/sarcasticism
Summary: Was there a reason Thrawn constantly insisted on having Eli at his side?





	Ulterior Motives

After his transfer to the Royal Imperial Academy on Coruscant, Eli knew his life would never be the same. He wanted to hate Thrawn for uprooting him like that, but the prejudiced community pushed them together. Coupled with Thrawn's persistence to, for lack of a better word, befriend him, Eli begrudgingly accepted that his destiny was intertwined with the Chiss for the foreseeable future. What did it matter anyway? He'd be back on his supply officer career track in three months.

Or so he thought. Come graduation day, Eli was assigned to the _Blood Crow_ as Thrawn's "aide." The Chiss apparently still needed Eli's Sy Bisti skills in spite of how well-spoken he was. Even though it wasn't part of his plan, Eli went along with Thrawn. Thrawn who was somehow always four or five steps ahead of everyone. He claimed it was merely observational skills, but Eli was almost certain Thrawn had some sort of foresight. Knowing this, Eli trusted him to lead him in the right direction. Even so, Eli couldn't shake the feeling that Thrawn was keeping him around for some unknown ulterior motive.

The two went on to serve under Captain Rik Virgillo. Those eighteen standard months went relatively without incident as the Captain maintained a respectful relationship with the Lieutenant and his aide. Unfortunately, Captain Filia Rossi was not so accepting. After what happened on the _Dromedar_ , she was somehow even more annoyed with Thrawn. As the commanding officer of their little expedition, Thrawn honorably accepted his punishment of shore leave. But then Thrawn manipulated the Captain into ordering Eli off to accompany him. Eli used every ounce of self-control he possessed to keep from arguing with her. He kept his face void of all emotion right up until the door closed behind her.

"With all due respect, sir, what the hell?" Eli exclaimed, turning to face the Lieutenant. _He speaks loudly, angrily._

"Ensign Vanto -" Thrawn said in a steady voice, retaining his composure and confidence as always.

"Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep risking everything to keep me at your side? You asked the Emperor, the _Emperor_ , if I could stay with you. He's killed people for less! And then after graduation, you did it again. And again. You keep finding ways for us to stay together. What's your game, Thrawn? I sure as hell can't figure it out."

"Ensign Van-"

"For star's sake, when we're alone, just call me by my name!"

"Eli," Thrawn said calmly. "I see a lot of untapped potential in you. And I want to help you become who you need to be."

"All this, _all this_ , because you think I could be someone special? There's nothing you're hoping to gain?" Thrawn averted his gaze at that, his facade finally cracking.

"No."

"Really? Lieutenant-always-a-step-ahead-of-everyone has no self-advancing purpose and just decides to help me of his own free will?"

"Eli… " Thrawn meet Eli's gaze. "Not here. There are still others on the ship. We will discuss this during our shore leave."

And Thrawn started walking away.

Eli didn't want to admit it, but Thrawn was right. Rossi already disliked the two of them and it would be unwise to give her any insight into their personal relationship.

Thrawn was, of course, summoned to Coruscant, so Captain Rossi suggested they take their shore leave there. Annoyed as Eli was, he had no choice but to accompany the lieutenant. They went from their docking bay to the hotel Thrawn had insisted on staying in. Thrawn had also offered to pay for their rooms, so how could Eli refuse?

“Would you two like adjoining rooms?” the Togruta receptionist asked.

“No, just one.”

“Okay, would you like single beds or queen beds?”

“Eli?” Thrawn turned to him.

“Um… queen, I guess.” Eli was only half-listening, still trying to figure out how and why Thrawn refused to let Eli leave his side.

“Alright, suite 1407, the elevators are down the hall and to the right,” the receptionist said with a smile.

“Ah, thank you,” Thrawn said as the receptionist handed him the keys.

The elevator ride was long and uncomfortable. At least on Eli’s part. Thrawn, on the other hand, had that look in his eyes that he only got while predicting successful tactical maneuvers. At least Eli would be able to ignore Thrawn properly once they got into their room.

If only there had been two beds.

“Oh, you've gotta be kidding me,” Eli muttered under his breath as he dropped his luggage near the door. “Out with it, then,” he said, turning to look at Thrawn.

Thrawn sat down on the bed, motioning for Eli to do the same.

"I'm good standing, thanks," Eli gritted out. Thrawn sighed and closed his eyes.

"I will admit that I did join the Empire to ultimately help my people, and while your translations have indeed been helpful, there is another reason I keep you around."

"Yeah? What's that?"

Thrawn looked at Eli, who was taken aback by the intensity of his bright red gaze. The Chiss stood, quickly walked towards Eli, and kissed him. It was a light, slow kiss, giving Eli plenty of opportunities to push him away. Eli froze, his heart racing. All of his repressed feelings about Thrawn rose up to the surface. His eyes were wide with surprise and he felt warmth rising in his cheeks. His skin was dark enough to hide his blush from most people, but most people couldn't see infrared. Thrawn broke the kiss and looked at Eli with uncertainty. His confident exterior had finally faded away.

"Why are your cheeks heating up?" Thrawn asked.

"Because… " Eli trailed off, then continued in Sy Bisti. "Maybe I liked that. And maybe I was so angry at you before because I thought you kept me around to use me, not because you… felt something for me."

"I feel… many things for you." Thrawn responded in the same language before switching back to Basic. "I want you around for more reasons than your skills or intelligence - which, I might add, are remarkable. I like your personality. I like that we both know a language no one else on board knows. I like your hair. I like your eyes. I like when you forget to hide your accent when you're speaking Basic. I like everything about you Eli Vanto. And I'm sorry for never showing it properly."

In response to the confession, Eli grabbed Thrawn's collar and pulled him close for another kiss. It was a slow one, the new couple taking time to explore each other. Thrawn’s breath hitched when Eli bit his lip and in turn, Eli inhaled sharply when Thrawn put his hands around Eli’s waist and pulled him closer. Thrawn’s tongue was cool against Eli’s. It felt a bit odd, intriguingly so, in fact. Eli wondered how it would feel against…other things.

“Sit down,” Eli breathed between kisses.

“I’m the one who gives orders around here, _Ensign_ ,” the Chiss whispered into Eli’s ear. Eli gasped and involuntarily bucked his hips. He’d always loved the way Thrawn talked. In their current state, Thrawn’s strange accent shown through, somehow turning Eli on even more. Thrawn smirked as he kissed Eli’s neck and began unbuttoning his shirt. Eli moved to do the same but the Chiss stopped him.

“Let me take care of you,” he said, gently backing Eli up against the wall.

“O-okay,” Eli stuttered, shrugging out of his shirt.

Thrawn put his hands in Eli’s hair and kissed him again before his hands roamed across his chest and continued their trail downwards. Eli stiffened when Thrawn’s hands brushed over his nipples. Thrawn, of course, noticed this and began his relentless assault of Eli’s chest, moving from his lips to kiss and bite his neck. Eli finally gave in and let out a moan. Thrawn’s reaction was both infuriating and exhilarating. He was obviously trying to draw out as many noises from Eli as he could. He continued to kiss his neck as he lightly rolled Eli’s nipples between his thumb and forefinger. Thrawn’s other hand drifted ever closer to the part of him that ached to be touched. Thrawn ran his fingers across the crotch of Eli’s pants and Eli gasped and bucked towards Thrawn’s hand.

“Ah, Thrawn,” Eli moaned.

The know-it-all smirked again. For once, Eli was happy to be the object of Thrawn’s “observational skills.”

Thrawn unbuttoned Eli’s pants and hooked his fingers under his boxers before pulling the two garments off him. The smug Chiss kissed and licked and bit the inside of Eli’s thighs, determined to touch everywhere except his throbbing member. Eli was panting in anticipation.

“Stop teasing,” he breathed. Thrawn chuckled and licked his cock from base to tip. “Oh,” Eli moaned. His tongue was blissfully cool against his cock. It was a new, unfamiliar sensation, but it felt _so_ good.

Thrawn continued to lick up and down his cock for a bit. Eli let himself get lost in the stimulation, which was why he yelped so loudly when Thrawn wrapped his lips around Eli’s cockhead and sucked. He was shaking with the effort to not thrust into Thrawn’s mouth. When Thrawn took his cock in as deep as he could, Eli couldn’t hold back his moans anymore. He wove his hands into Thrawn’s black hair.

“Thrawn - I want this to last,” Eli said shakily. Immediately understanding, Thrawn stopped what he was doing

His hair was messy, his lips were swollen, and he was panting hard. Eli pounced on him. He kissed Thrawn hard as he slowly pushed him onto the floor. Leaning over, Eli began removing Thrawn’s uniform, desperately wishing to see more of the alien’s skin. Once Thrawn was naked from the hips up, Eli sat up to admire his new lover. He looked beautiful, his chest gleaming with sweat, his glowing eyes half-lidded and his pupils dilated with desire. Eli felt a strange sense of pride, having been the one to make the great Lieutenant break his confident façade. Thrawn met his eyes, silently pleading for something, anything. Eli smirked and bent down to circle his nipples with his tongue. Thrawn groaned when Eli bit gently.

Eli kissed up Thrawn’s chest to his neck, feeling very satisfied as Thrawn sighed in pleasure. Eli let his hand drift over the Chiss’ abs before he cupped him through his pants. Eli found that he was just as hard as Eli himself. Thrawn let out a moan and Eli would have been smirking if it wasn’t so damn hot.

“Do you have -" Eli started before Thrawn abruptly stood up and went rummaging through his bag. He returned with a vial of some sort of clear liquid that definitely didn’t classify as a necessity. Unless… _oh_.

“You brought that knowing this would happen, didn’t you?”

“One must always accommodate for every possible outcome,” Thrawn said matter-of-factly.

“Oh? Why don’t you put it to good use, then?” Eli lied down on the bed and bent his knees, spreading his legs and raising his eyebrows in a challenge. Thrawn blushed a light purple instead of the usual pink of fair-skinned humans. Thrawn was kneeling between Eli’s legs seconds later, dipping his fingers into the vial. His index finger circled around Eli’s hole before slowly pushing inside. It wasn’t long before Thrawn had another finger inside him, stretching him. When Thrawn curled his fingers and brushed up against Eli’s prostate, Eli moaned and thrust his hips, attempting to fuck himself on Thrawn’s fingers, but Thrawn’s other hand held him down. Eli needed more, needed Thrawn, Thrawn’s fingers, Thrawn’s cock, anything.

“Thrawn - ngh - please!” Eli whimpered.

“So eager.” Thrawn chuckled. Eli whined and tried to thrust up into nothing. “Have you no shame?”

Eli squeezed his eyes shut. He knew Thrawn was trying to get him to beg again and he was trying so hard not to, but it would feel so good if he just did it and then Thrawn would finally stop teasing him.

“Go on,” Thrawn said playfully. “Tell me what you would have me do.”

“I - I,” Eli panted.

“You know it’ll get you what you want.”

“P-please, just _fuck_ me! I can’t take it any longer. I want you inside me so bad, I want you to fuck me hard enough that I’ll be sore tomorrow!” Eli was shaking. Having gotten exactly what he’d wanted, Thrawn smiled triumphantly.

“Oh, I’ll be happy to grant your request,” Thrawn said in a low voice, taking his fingers out of Eli to undo his pants and lube himself up. He positioned himself at Eli’s hole and slowly guided his cock inside. Eli relished in the stretch, sighing in relief.

“Eli,” Thrawn gasped, “you feel so good.”

“Thrawn,” Eli moaned, rolling his hips. “Move…”

His thrusts started out slow and shallow, but as Thrawn pulled back farther and pushed in harder, Eli felt the tip of his cock press against his prostate.

“Yes, _there_ ,” he moaned shamelessly as Thrawn continued to thrust into him, hard.

“I wonder, tomorrow, as we walk to and from our meetings, and people ask why you’re walking funny, will you blush? Will you remember _this_?” Thrawn punctuated the last word with a particularly hard thrust. Eli moaned loudly. How the hell was Thrawn so calm in a situation like this?

“Next time,” Thrawn continued as if he wasn’t balls-deep inside his subordinate, “I think I’ll let _you_ fuck _me_. You feel so good, so tight and hot… I think you’d enjoy it just as much… I know I would.”

There was nothing coherent coming out of Eli’s mouth anymore, just broken bits Sy Bisti and Basic, saying words like, “please,” and, “Thrawn,” and, “more.”

Thrawn had sped up his thrusts, but that didn’t stop him from whispering more dirty things to Eli.

“Thrawn - if you keep doing that - ah! I won’t be able to last much longer.” Thrawn was going to make him come without even putting his hands on Eli’s cock.

“Me neither,” Thrawn admitted. “I can’t wait to see how you look when you come.” That was the last straw for Eli.

“Mm - _fuck_ , Thrawn!” Eli wailed as his come spurted all over his stomach. 

“Ah, Eli!” Thrawn moaned as Eli tightened around him. His own orgasm quickly followed.

When they both finally came down from their post-orgasm highs, Eli hadn’t moved but Thrawn was lying on top of him. He lightly kissed Eli on his forehead. Eli exhaled and smiled, pressing his forehead to Thrawn's.

“I don’t know exactly where we go from here,” Thrawn started, “what with all the fraternization rules, but… I think I want to try with you.”

“You mean… you want us to be together?” Eli asked.

“Why are you speaking in Sy Bisti,” Thrawn asked in the same language.

“Too tired… for Basic,” Eli replied.

“Well,” Thrawn continued, switching back to Basic anyways, “I believe the term for it in Basic is boyfriends?”

“Nothing would make me happier,” Eli responded, having gained enough coherence to speak the common tongue again.

“Not even a promotion?” Thrawn asked, a playful glint in his eyes.

Eli threw a pillow at him.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't tell me I wasn't the only one who immediately shipped Thrawn and Eli. Like Timothy Zahn knew wtf he was doing.
> 
> Will I ever make two works in the same fandom? Who knows.


End file.
